Riverside Chats!
Join us for an outdoor walk this spring!
These fun, engaging, and easy walks and talks are free, an exclusive offering for our leadership supporters and friends. Small groups and an outdoor setting make for a relaxed way to connect with friends and learn about the river and lands we treasure.
Sharpen your eagle eyes with the “Bird Man of DC”
Friday, April 14, 8:00am - 9:30am
Dyke Marsh, Belle Haven Picnic Area/ Mt. Vernon Trail Parking Lot, George Washington Parkway (south of Alexandria VA)
Speaker: Dan Rauch, Fisheries and Wildlife Biologist, DC Department of Energy and Environment
Rain Date: Monday, April 17, 8:00am
Join Dan “the Bird Man of DC” to monitor 2 bald eagle nests in Dyke Marsh, which will likely be hosting new chicks in April. Hear about Dan's close encounters with the eagles, ospreys, ravens, and migratory songbirds thriving along this biodiverse portion of the Potomac River. Dyke Marsh is one of the largest, most significant temperate, climax, narrow-leafed cattail marshes in the National Park System. Monitoring our bird population gives us excellent clues to the health of our water, fish, and Potomac ecosystem. This walk is 1 ½ hours along a relatively flat stretch of trail, bike path and boardwalk. You will want to bring binoculars if you have them!
Trees in the City: How urban forests help keep our water clean
Sunday, April 16, 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Battery Kemble Park, Chain Bridge Road NW, Washington DC 20016
Speaker: Alexis Dickerson, Senior Director of Community Conservation, Potomac Conservancy
Rain Date: April 23, 12:00pmExplore Battery Kemble Park, just upstream from the C&O Canal. This walking tour with Alexis Dickerson (Virginia Master Naturalist and Master Gardener) will highlight the positive impacts of urban forests. Trees hold the soil together to stop erosion of our streambanks, filter pollutants from water and the air, reduce the urban heat island effect, and create safe habitat for wildlife species. Learn which types of trees make the biggest impact and where we should be focusing our future planting efforts.
From abused to used: The fight to restore 500 acres of forgotten forests in DC
Tuesday, April 18, 1:00pm – 2:00pm
Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Pl SE, Washington, DC 20020
Speaker: Nathan Harrington, President, Ward 8 Woods
Rain Date: Thursday, April 20, 1:00pm
Meet with Ward 8 Woods Conservancy President Nathan Harrington and learn about the community's work to enhance the ecological health and public enjoyment of the more than 500 acres of forest in Washington, DC's Ward 8. Nathan will guide us from the Anacostia Community Museum onto the George Washington Carver Nature Trail, a prototype of what woodlands throughout Ward 8 could look and feel like with designated trails cleared of invasive species and trash. In contrast, we will also investigate the south end of Fort Circle Park Hiker-Biker Trail which is overrun with invasive vines and not maintained. Explore with us what roadblocks exist to a trail system that opens safe access to multiple forests and parklands and can be enjoyed by all.
The history of Black land ownership along the Potomac
Friday, April 21, 6:00 – 7:00pm (evening on the waterfront!)
Georgetown Waterfront Park, NW, Washington, DC (River steps, end of 31st St NW at the water's edge)
Speaker: Christopher Carr, Co-Founder, Black Land Ownership
Rain Date: Sunday, April 23, 4:00pm
Gather with us at Georgetown Waterfront Park to hear Chris Carr, co-founder of Black Land Ownership, as he traces the obstacles Black landowners have historically faced owning land and keeping it within Black communities. Explore how Black land ownership has changed in Georgetown itself, and in farmland along the Potomac River and the incredible number of obstacles (heir's laws, red-lining, loan restrictions, documentation issues) causing this racial inequity. Chris shares his own personal account of family land owned and lost in St. Mary's County, Maryland.
Tour 'HQO': Discover the engineering marvels at work for clean water
Monday, April 24, 12:00pm - 1:00pm
HQO, DC Water, 1385 Canal St SE, Washington DC 20003
Guide: Maureen Holman, Vice President, Shared Services, DC Water
Rain Date: TBD
Tour DC's Water's headquarters (HQO), which incorporates almost every state-of-the-art environmentally sustainable feature used in modern construction. Maureen Holman will highlight HQO's green features including onsite rainfall capture, a spectacular green roof with native plantings, and a system that generates its heating and cooling powers from the flow of DC's wastewater beneath the new offices. Beyond this building's unique engineering, how does DC Water support our mission to restore the Potomac to full health for the five million people relying on the river for drinking water?
* For security we must have names 3 days before the event, and guests must have ID with them.
A boathouse near Theodore Roosevelt Island?
Tuesday, April 25, 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Theodore Roosevelt Island parking lot, George Washington Parkway, Arlington, VA
Speakers: Erik Meyers, President, Arlington Boat House Foundation
Rain Date: Thursday, April 27, 12:00pm
Rowers slice through the Potomac River's water early in the morning and late at night as teams practice on one of the best rivers in the nation for this popular water sport. Georgetown has long been a bustling scene for the rowing community. Finally, demand to accommodate more rowing access on the Potomac River has yielded a project that will provide much more than just another boathouse. A unique partnership among Arlington County, the National Park Service, and community organizations has resulted in the plans for Arlington Community Boathouse (ACB). Join Erik Meyers, President, Arlington Boat House Foundation, along this stretch of the Potomac to hear about the new boathouse (first in this area of Northern Virginia) that also aims to create a space for outdoor learning and more inclusive river access for all.
Canceled - Reclaiming Fones Cliffs: The Rappahannock Tribe's sacred place
Wednesday, April 26, 6:00pm – 7:00pm
Dacha Loft, 1600 7th St NW, Washington DC 20001
We are sorry to have to remove this event from our schedule. We will work to share this compelling story in the future.
Join Joel Dunn, President of the Chesapeake Conservancy, as he presents the incredible story of Fones Cliffs (known as Pissacoack). The cliffs are an ancestral home and sacred site to the Rappahannock Tribe and make up a majestic 4-mile stretch along the Rappahannock River in Virginia. This landscape provides important habitat for one of the largest concentrations of eagles on the East Coast, a significant symbol for the Rappahannock people. Joel shares the persistence of multiple organizations, private landowners, the Tribe's Chief Anne Richardson, and Tribe members that worked together to enable the Tribe to re-acquire 465 acres at Fones Cliffs on April 1, 2022. The story continues as the Tribe plans trails and a replica 16th-century village, where tribal members can educate the public about their history and Indigenous approaches to conservation.
Canceled - Private lands: The future of conservation
We are sorry to have to remove this event from our schedule. The rain date did not work for many. We will work to share this compelling story in the future.
Riverbend Park, 8700 Potomac Hills Street, Great Falls VA
Speaker: Avery Siler, Director of Land Conservation, Potomac Conservancy
Land protection is one of the most powerful tools in the fight for clean water. Potomac Conservancy is an accredited land trust and has protected over 16,000 acres through 75 easement-protected properties. This talk takes place on the high point overlooking the Potomac's rapids, in view of the first property protected by Potomac Conservancy. Joining private farm and forest land protection with conservation goals, these private partnerships are protecting clean water throughout the Potomac's reach. We'll talk about how the creation of conservation hubs is accelerating clean water benefits for communities in Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, DC.
